All countries
There are many international SIM cards on the market offering data "worldwide" or at least in major regions. These offers are collected in this "all countries" section. The prices for data are much more expensive than on the national level. So always compare to local SIM cards and roaming offers in your country. You won't save much using these cards, but they may be an option for frequent travelers and people travelling through multiple countries. For Europe, check the European Union section too. 'TravelSim' TravelSim is one of the oldest companies to have launched an international prepaid card, using an Estonian (+372) number. It has voice and text service in about 190 countries and proved to be quite reliable. The only problem has been its very high cost for data. If you travel a lot and always go to different countries it can be much more comfortable to use only one prepaid number which can be used (almost) worldwide. But this has an extra price. In 2014 they lowered some data prices and introduced the TravelSim Data Card. The following prices only apply to their data and not the voice card. Though the data SIM has voice too, but at unfavourable prices. 'Startup price and availability' The TravelSim Data is only available online on their website with worldwide free shipping. It costs 25 EUR with 25 EUR credit and comes as micro-, mini- or nano-SIM. It can be reloaded by international credit cards on your TravelSim Profile online and stays vaild for 2 years after the last top up. 'Validity' Unlike voice and text, data is only available in about 100 countries and 2G and 3G only. The rates range from crazy 20.00 EUR to 0.19 EUR per MB depending on the country. The price model is split into 2 schemes: a pay-as-you-go rate and package rates. 'Pay-as-you-go rate' It's the default rate when no pack is booked and the only rate for some countries. Rates are charged in 1 KB or 10 KB increments and the most important countries are: *0.19 EUR per MB: in the entire EU, Norway, Russia, Hong Kong *0.39 EUR per MB: in the rest of Europe, Australia, Egypt, India, Israel, Korea, South Africa, Turkey, Thailand, Taiwan, USA, Canada * 0.50 EUR per MB: China *0.75 EUR per MB: in Indonesia, Malaysia *1 EUR per MB: Brazil, Japan * 8 EUR per MB: Moldova *20 EUR per MB: a lot of countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia, *see new price list in pdf 'Data packages' Furthermore, they now offer the following data packs to be booked on the personal portal of the SIM (navigation to that is free): Be aware that billing is in disadvantageous 100 KB increments. The package prices listed above only apply to the following countries: the complete EU and Albania, Azerbaijan, Australia, Belarus, Egypt, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Israel, Moldova, New Zealand, Norway, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Switzerland, Thailand, Taiwan, Turkey, Ukraine, UAE, USA. Other countries are only available on pay-as-you-go. Data traffic from the most countries outside the EU is counted twice (2x). So the rate in packages for EU countries is about 0.10 EUR per MB, the other countries mentioned above about 0.20 EUR per MB. Thus the packages are about half of the price of the Pay-as-you-go rate for most destinations. 'More Info' The rates are surely above the prices of average national data SIM cards. But there is hardly one product comparable on the market. Other international roaming cards like XXSIM and Maxroam don't offer so low prices for worldwide data, that's why they are out of the list. It depends on how much you are willing to pay extra for an almost worldwide solution. Always compare the TravelSim rates with the roaming rates of other mobile providers. *APN: send.ee *Username: number of your Travelsim: 3725...... *Website: www.travelsim.com OneSimCard On the other side of the Atlantic OneSimCard by Belmont Telecom Inc. offers a very similar product. Its "data & roam" SIM works in 160+ countries, is also based on an Estonian number (+372) which is added by a US or Canadian number and has essentially the same rates like TravelSIM. The main difference is the underlying currency of US$ instead of Euro. The SIM costs $29.95 with free shipping in the US and the tariff table is identical to TravelSIM: The PAYG rate of 0.19€ is $0.25, 0.39€ is $0.50 going up to 20€ or $25. They also sell totally the same data packages for the equivalent rates in US$. Although data of some countries are not counted twice in the packages like with TravelSIM, they simply cut in half the allowances of the (2x) countries, which is the same in the end. For more info see TravelSIM above or check their website. If you live in America, it might be the closer choice for you to get the same SIM plan. * APN: apn (no joke, but only for the OneSimCard data & roam) * Website: http://www.onesimcard.com 'XXSim' Like TravelSim XXSim is a reliable international SIM card based on an Estonian (+372) number which has been around for years. In fact, both products use the same platform. Voice is available in about 190 countries and data in a few less. While TravelSim has issued a data card, XXSim has not (yet). XXSim offers the exact same data prices given above at the pay-as-you-go-rate, but they don't offer any packages though. That's why XXSim can't be recommened. First you pay the premium of an international SIM card, but you don't get the discounts of TravelSim. Charging 0.19 EUR per MB within the EU, you are almost at the price cap for any SIM card sold in the EU with roaming data. So for many users the roaming option of your home carrier is the more convenient choice at the same price, while TravelSim is the cheaper alternative if you want to buy an international card. 'Piranha' Mobile Piranha is an international SIM card coming with an US (+1) and an UK (+44) mobile number. It offers prices below TravelSIM at the cost of less reliability and comfort. 'Start-up price and availability' The starter pack is available only online as mini-, micro- or nano-card in three denominations with free international shipping: *SIM card with 5 £, credit: 12 £ *SIM card with 30 £, credit: 35 £ *SIM card with 50 £, credit: 50 £ Top ups can be made online with credit card or PayPal. Auto top-up can be linked to a credit card. Generally, they offer good rates on voice, text and data, but the rates are as complicated as the technical settings. Most calls are made through the callback procedure. In tests, the card proved not to be very reliable: calls were dropped and texts were lost. Many users are confused with its handling. 'Data rates' For data, they offer roaming in about 140 countries. It is billed in 50 KB increments. Rates differ even in the same country, depending on which local roaming network you are on. Some price examples: * 0.07 € - 0.13 €/MB: all EU/EEA states * 0.08 €/MB: USA (T-Mobile) * 0.13 €/MB: Australia (Optus), Canada (Rogers), Israel (Orange), Russia (Megafon, Beeline), Turkey (Vodafone), Japan (Softbank), Thailand (AIS), S.Korea (KT), South Africa (Vodacom), Switzerland (Orange, Swisscom) * 0.26 €/MB: Brazil (TIM, Vivo), India (Reliance, Aircel), Indonesia (Indosat), Mexico (Movistar) * 0.39 €/MB: China (Unicom) * 0.65 €/MB: UAE (du), Egypt (Orange) Because of different rates for different providers in the same country, be sure to pick the cheapest first and disable automatic network selection, so your device can't switch the roaming networks. Furthermore, Piranha mobile allows you to make calls through VoIP if you install their VoIP app or have a VoIP-router and Wifi connection. Clones Using openroamer.com APN, there are other offers on the market. They all employ the same technicalities as Piranha Mobile and have only slightly modified rates: * AeroSip Global SIM: http://www.aerosip.com * Mobi Passport Global Voice and Data SIM: http://www.mobipassport.com 'More info' *APN: openroamer.com *Website: www.piranha-mobile.com *Extensive discussion here Truphone Truphone is a British provider offering a multi-SIM card for discounted calls, text and data abroad. Here only their prepaid product is shown. Multi-SIM means that you can buy their SIM card and add some other countries with local numbers on it. Right now for prepaid, you can buy a UK, Australian and US SIM card or combine these countries as home countries on your multi-SIM. Other countries are planned for 2015. The local number will be shown to the caller. Roaming is possible in "over 200 countries", although the UN lists only 193. They base their roaming largely on a cooperation with different Vodafone networks. Startup price and availability Their SIM card needs to be ordered online here for 19.99 £/€ or 29.99 AU$/US$ coming with 10 £/€ or 15 AU$/US$ credit. Each additional home country can be added for 5 £/€ or 8 AU$/US$. All sizes of SIM cards are available and worldwide shipping is free. Credit can be added of 10, 20, 30 or 50 £/€ or by auto top-up linked to a credit card. The SIM card must be activated and an account created online here. Data rates All voice calls per min, texts and data per MB is 0.07 € / £ 0.06 in the "Truphone zone". Roaming is mostly on Vodafone networks where available. These data prices are charged in € to give some examples: * 0.07 € per MB: 'Truphone Zone': UK, Australia, USA, Germany, Netherlands, Hong Kong, Poland, Spain * 0.18 € per MB: all other EU/EEA countries * 1.80 € per MB: Switzerland * 2.20 € per MB: South Africa, India, Thailand, China, Japan, Indonesia, New Zealand * 3.60 € per MB: Canada, Mexico * 7.20 € per MB: Argentina, Brazil, Egypt, Turkey, UAE, Russia More prices here. Speed depends on local availability, though 4G/LTE is not supported. They offer more prices and even data packages with postpaid products aimed at business travellers. Validity In the event that you do not use the SIM card for any continuous period of 180 days, they reserve the right to invalidate the SIM card and/or call balance components and cancel your account without prior notice and without any refund, repayment or compensation. More Info * APN: truphone.com * They offer a Truphone app which only provides free international calls through VoIP over WIFI. * Website: http://www.truphone.com/row/consumer/sim/ KnowRoaming KnowRoaming is a Canadian start-up with a new approach: They provide a "SIM sticker" which has to be applied to your home SIM. Thus, all calls, texts and data outside of your home market are diverted through the KnowRoaming SIM addon. Their sticker intercepts electrical signals before they go to the regular SIM. If you're in your "home" country it passes everything through. Otherwise it "takes over" and functions as a second SIM. They claim that this sticker will fit over regular, micro and nano SIMs. What they don't say is that e.g. Apple denies all warranty, if the SIM-card-holder is damaged by manipulated SIM-cards. The first feedback by users e.g. on Amazon seems to be mostly positive, but some had problems using the sticker. Startup price and availability The SIM sticker is only available online on http://www.knowroaming.com with worldwide free shipping. It costs $29.99 with $15 credit and comes with an applicator for micro-, mini- or nano-SIM. The SIM addon can only be managed and reloaded by their app available for Android, iOS and Windows Phone. Validity Their SIM card will be terminated after 15 months of inactivity. Data is available in about 80 countries and 2G and 3G only. The data rates range from $0.15 to $0.65 per MB depending on the country. Like TravelSIM, the price model is split into two tariff lines: a pay-as-you-go rate and a package rate. Pay-as-you-go Rate It's the default rate and the only rate for some countries. Here are some examples: * $0.11 per MB: USA * $0.15 per MB: all countries of the EU/EEA, Australia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Switzerland, Turkey * $0.20 per MB: Hong Kong, India, Israel * $0.25 per MB: Mexico * $0.30 per MB: Argentina, Russia, Thailand * $0.33 per MB: Japan * $0.45 per MB: Canada * $0.50 per MB: Brazil, China * $0.65 per MB: UAE see full prices here Data Packages Furthermore, they offer the following data pack to be booked by app: * "Unlimited" data for $7.99 per day. This pack is only valid in all EU/EEA countries, Albania, Armenia, Island, Macedonia, Russia, Serbia, Switzerland, Ukraine, Mexico, USA, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, South Korea, Kazakhstan, Ghana, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and a few more In their T&Cs they state a Fair Use Policy, that they can throttle speed to 258 kbps after having reached only 250 MB per day. More Info * Website: http://www.knowroaming.com * Forum discussion here Slimduet The sticker technique has been copied by mobile value-added service provider Taisys Technologies and European carrier JOIN Experience who issued a pan-European plan for 39 countries. They call their sticker SIM "Slimduet Card" and combine it with an own app to purchase bundles and manage your plan. More info about their product: https://www.slimduet.net/en Keepgo Keepgo is an Israeli-based start-up founded in 2009 with offices around the world. To travelers, it is offering a SIM card preloaded with a data bundle for roaming at the selected destination. Countries and rates Their data SIM card covers in total 64 countries: the entire EU/EEA, but not Eastern Europe; all of Northern and most of Southern America, but with some gaps in Central America and the Caribbean. African, Middle Eastern and Asian countries are missing completely: list of countries and the local roaming networks SIM card is data-only, no voice or texts, but VoIP is possible. * their "Lifetime Data SIM Card" is available for US$ 69 containing 1 GB roaming data * additionally they sell a mobile WiFi Hotspot (mifi) including the SIM from above for US$ 129 Loaded credit stays valid for one year, the SIM card is supposed to last a "lifetime". Availability You have to order it online on their website in mini, micro or nano size. Shipping is free to 38 countries and payment by credit card. There you can refill the SIM card too. These refills are available: * 1 GB for $ 49 * 3 GB for $ 117 * 5 GB for $ 194 Each refill extends the data validity for 1 year including the unused data on the card at the moment of the refill. More info * APN: internet.keepgo.com * Website: http://www.keepgo.com/ 'Transatel DataSIM' This SIM card is offered by the Transatel group, a pan-European MVNO, MVNE and M2M. Their data SIM card can be used in any modem, tablet, USB dongle and mobile Wi-Fi hotspot (e.g. Mi-Fi). You can either choose a SIM card preloaded with initial data credit called "Worldwide Data SIM card", which can be used in any of the covered countries, or a country specific SIM card, if you plan to stay in a dedicated country. The international data card comes in two start-up packages: * for € 20: with € 20 of credit valid for 3 years * for € 40: with € 50 of credit valid for 3 years * they also sell a 3G USB-dongle (Huawei E3131) for € 35 and a 3G MI-FI (Huawei E5530) for € 60. Countries and rates Up to now, they offer 33 countries in a pay as you go rate or in 3 different data packages: You can easily top up your account and subscribe to a data bundle by connecting to your account at: tds-selfcare.com. If travelling to another country which is covered, you can top up your "worldwide" data SIM with a data bundle for another zone, without the need of buying a new SIM card. All packages are valid within one country only. The Data SIM will be automatically be deactivated 18 months after your last use. More info: * APN name = mobiledata (+ enable data roaming option on your device) * SIM cards worldwide delivery (fees: €1-2) * Website: www.transatel-datasim.com SimplyRoam '''(rightsim, Fastroam) SimplyRoam is another international SIM card for data-only, no text nor voice. It is based on KPN's roaming platform and distributed through the UK-based company Rightsim. '''Countries and rates They offer three different packages: * Zone 1 includes all EU/EEA countries (see here) * Zone 2 includes Zone 1 and major countries like Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Singapore, Thailand, Turkey and the United States * Zone 3 includes Zones 1 and 2 and further countries; 110 countries in total (list) All packages are valid for 30 days. Note that the rates above don't include taxes. You need to add the VAT according to your country. Have in mind, that holding a Zone 3 package, you'll surf on this expensive rate in Europe (= Zone 1) too. Availability The SIM card can be bought online through their distributing partner rightsim.com in the UK in mini, micro and nano size for £5.99 (or the equivalent in € or $). You can pay by credit card or PayPal. Top-ups can be made likewise on the website of SimplyRoam. The SIM card will expire, if not used for a year. The same company offers a mobile hotspot (MiFi) under the brand of Fastroam. They simply add a pretty overpriced ZTE MF65 3G/4G mobile hotspot WiFi router for €149.50 to the SIM card from above. More info * VoIP calls and tethering are allowed * APN: fast.m2m * Website: http://www.simplyroam.com/ ChatSIM ChatSIM, formerly known as WhatSIM, is the first international roaming SIM card aimed at social messenger users only. This Estonian-based SIM by the Italian MVNO Zeromobile roams in 400 networks of around 150 countries. It supports major messengers like Telegram, WhatsApp, BBM, Facebook Messenger, WeChat, Line, QQi and Kakao, Kik and Hike. The SIM card needs to be ordered online on their website. They charge 20 € for the SIM and at least 5€ for shipping. All three SIM sizes are available. When you get the SIM, it needs to be activated online. For a 10 € charge included in the starter price, you can chat for one year in all covered countries. But this refers only to text and emoticons, not other types of messages like pictures or videos. For multimedia contents like photos, video or audio, a price scheme based on credits and zones is in place. To send multimedia messenges or make VoIP calls, you need to top up at least 10 € as well as for all other internet browsing. The zoning starts at 50 credits (= 0.25€) per MB in the EU which is even above the EU data cap. It goes up to 750 (= 3.75€) credits per MB in exotic countries. All multimedia content and surfing other than text messenging are charged accordingly. VoIP or other calls through the messengers are possible, but billed likewise. Voice calls and SMS are not supported. Reloads are by credit card on their website. It will not expire, as long as you use it once within 12 months and top up 10 € every year. You need to switch off data traffic on all mobile apps on your device as long as you don't add extra credit because your SIM will blocked, if anything else but text messenging is detected and you don't have credits. So better think twice about this SIM even if you are a chat fanatic. * APN (for messenging only): chat * APN (for internet use): apn * Username: your phone number: 372......... * Website: http://www.chatsim.com Droam Droam is a Dutch company which offers a Mifi device for rent with global data roaming. 'MiFi' A MiFi is a pocketsize wireless router that acts as mobile hotspot. Connected to an internet provider, it can provide access to the internet for a number of devices at the same time by WIFI. To this Mifi router up to 5 mobile devices can be linked simultanously. 'Rates' For countries a time (1) and a volume (2) rate apply together: (1) Time: From 1.50 EUR per day in the EU to 5 EUR overseas (2) Volume: Droam has coverage in 160 countries, with country-specific prices: list 'Shipping' Shippings free in the Netherlands when sent using regular mail. FedEx "priority" shipping is available to and from many countries, including the Netherlands. FedEx Prices range between 14 € and 60 € one-way. 'Security Deposit' 150 € security deposit for Mifi device, returned within 5 days after the end of rental period. Additional delay in return costs 5 € per day. 'Website' http://www.droam.nl/en/ 'ComfortWay' Instead of renting a MiFi router (see Droam), you can think of buying a device. ComfortWay is an international start-up which sells Mifi-routers linked to a low data roaming tariff. In 2014 they signed an agreement with Czech T-Mobile to use their platform. SIM card and tariff are only available in combination with the router. 'MiFi (Mobile Hotspot)' They sell two MiFis as a choice: *ComfortWay Mini looks like a rebranded Huawei E585: 2G, 3G, max. download 7 Mbps, max. upload 5.76 Mbps, connects up to 5 devices for 39 EUR including 5 € credit. *ComfortWay Pro looks like a rebranded ZTE MF60: 2G, 3G, max download 21 Mbps, max. upload 5.76 Mbps, connects up to 8 devices for 59 EUR including 10 € credit. Their routers are available online to be delivered in 3-15 days within the EU for free or plus 37 € by DHL Express paid by credit card, PayPal or bank transfer. Or in their outlets at some European airports mostly. Top-ups can be made online by Mastercard, Visa or PayPal. 'Rates' They offer two rates for EU and EEA data: *Business: 150 MB of EU roaming data for a daily flat fee of 6 €. *Standard: flat rate of 0.05 € per MB across the EU Other countries (20+) like Canada, USA, China or Russia are only available for 0.29 € per MB. As part of the deal, the SIM card is locked to the device and not available seperately. With their offer they mainly address business travellers. With a default data rate of 0.05 €/MB, they currently beat all "international" prepaid SIM cards in the EU. 'Website' http://www.eng.comfway.com/ Goodspeed Goodspeed is a brand created by the Finnish Uros Ltd. They follow a different approach in renting or selling WiFi routers for roaming data. They teamed up with Chinese manufacturer ZTE to develop the MF900. MiFi Their new WiFi hotspot is called MF900 and has been released in summer 2015. It can take up to 10 SIM cards and gives up to 14 WiFi or USB connections simultaneously. It covers all 2G, 3G and most 4G/LTE frequencies used worldwide and battery lasts for 12 hours. It's sold or rented exclusively through Goodspeed online and its sales channels: * for purchase: € 239 * for rent: € 19.90 per month in a 24-months rental contract Data rates Data is given out on day passes for each respective country seperately. Three tariff lines are offered: * Lite: no base rate, € 16.50 per day gives 1 GB in most EU countries and 500 MB in other countries * Pro: € 9.90 per month base rate plus € 5.90 or € 9.90 per day for 500 MB or 1 GB depending on country * Business: € 14.95 per month base rate for larger quantities from 5 devices, rates the same as Pro. On the device, you can use your own SIM card(s) too. This is limited to one home SIM on the Lite line and unlimited on Pro and Business lines. In summer 2015 around 77 countries around the world are supported or at least announced to be covered soon. But you still need to have (or buy) a seperate SIM card (or day pass) for every country. Website http://goodspeed.io __INDEX__